Guide
The Difference Between Serious Illness and Critical Illness Cover
Cover definitions
Serious Illness Cover and critical illness cover are often thought to be the same type of insurance. But they have important differences that impact the type of cover you get. It’s useful to understand the differences between these plans to make sure you’re buying the right product for you.
What is Serious Illness Cover?
Both Serious Illness Cover and critical illness cover provide a tax-free lump sum of money if you get diagnosed with one of the illnesses that they cover. You can use the money as you wish. But it’s designed to ease the financial burden if you need to take time off work.
Serious Illness Cover offers cover against a wide range of conditions. These include cancer, heart attack, stroke, permanent disability and dementia. This type of insurance covers a wider range of conditions compared to traditional critical illness cover.
The payout you receive is graded based on how severe the illness is. You’ll receive a bigger payout if the illness is very severe and a smaller payout if it’s less severe. The insurance is designed for you to make multiple claims. As long as your payout doesn’t use up the total amount of your cover, you can claim again if you need to.
All Serious Illness Cover plans include Dementia and FrailCare Cover as standard. This means that when your Serious Illness Cover ends, you can continue to pay your premiums to access Dementia and FrailCare Cover. It protects against future care costs for dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, stroke, or frailty.
Find out more: Serious Illness Cover explained
What is critical illness cover?
This type of insurance will also cover you for severe illnesses such as cancer and heart disease. But it tends to cover fewer conditions compared to serious illness cover.
Many critical illness policies will only payout once. This means you can’t make multiple claims won't be able to claim more than once and the policy ends when a payout has been made. But some policies will make an extra payment for a specific diagnosis.
Find out more: Critical illness cover explained
Critical illness cover vs Serious Illness Cover
Let’s take a look at the similarities and differences between the two types of policy. The table below shows how they compare to each other.
| Serious Illness Cover | Critical illness cover | |
| Conditions covered | Up to 174 depending on your plan choice. | 75 conditions on average. |
| Conditions covered by both serious illness and critical illness cover |
|
|
| Conditions not typically covered by critical illness cover |
|
|
| Conditions only covered by Serious Illness Cover |
|
|
| Partial payments | Between 5% and 75% of the amount insured. Additional claims can be made up to the full amount insured. | Typically, £25,000 for less critical conditions with specified surgeries or treatment. |
| Multiple claims | Claims can be paid until the whole cover amount is used up. | Additional claims can sometimes be made for certain conditions. |
| Children’s cover | Available as an option. Up to £100,000 cover. | Available as an option. Cover is usually up to a maximum of £25,000 - £50,000. |
| Later life cover | Any unused cover at the end of the plan can be converted into Dementia and FrailCare Cover. | No option to convert cover in later life. |
Key similarities
Both types of cover provide a lump sum of money when you’re diagnosed with a condition covered by the insurance. This is designed to help with the financial stress associated with illness. Because of your condition, you may need to take time off work, or work reduced hours. This can impact your ability to manage your finances.
Both types of cover will payout for serious medical conditions, such as cancer, heart attack and stroke. Both insurances can provide you with financial peace of mind when you’re faced with life-changing condition.
Key differences
The differences between Serious Illness Cover and critical illness cover are in the details of the policies.
One of the main differences is between the number of conditions covered. Critical illness insurance tends to provide cover for fewer conditions. This matters because if your condition isn’t covered, you won’t receive a payout. With Serious Illness Cover, you’re more likely to get a payout as more conditions are covered.
With Serious Illness Cover, the payout you receive will depend on the how severe your illness is. This means it may not be the full amount of your cover, but a partial payment. However, with Serious Illness Cover, you can make multiple claims. So, if your conditions worsens, or you develop another condition, you can claim again.
Another important distinction between the two plans is about the severity of the condition at the point you make a claim. With Serious Illness Cover you may be able to make a claim at an earlier stage than you would with a critical illness policy.
And, with critical illness insurance, your condition often needs to be more advanced before you meet the criteria to make a claim. And once a full payment has been made, the policy ends, and you're unable to make any further claims on it.
Also, Dementia and FrailCare Cover are included as standard on your Serious Illness Cover plan. It protects you against later life conditions, such as, Dementia and Alzheimer's, by paying out a lump sum if you were to be diagnosed.
With a critical illness plan, you lose any cover you don't use when your plan ends.
Conditions covered
Vitality Serious Illness Cover covers 114 different conditions as standard. This is more comprehensive than most other policies, which, on average, only cover 75 conditions. If you choose to upgrade your cover, you can be insured for up to 174 conditions.
Any condition not specifically named in the policy details won’t be covered. These include relatively minor illnesses or injuries such as flu, broken bones, and muscle injuries. Carefully consider the plan details when choosing your cover.
Pre-existing medical conditions are also excluded from cover. These are medical conditions you had before taking out the insurance. Insurance companies won’t usually pay out if the condition or procedure you’re claiming for is linked to a condition that’s been excluded.
Claims and payouts
When you make a claim for either critical illness cover or Serious Illness Cover, you’ll go through a similar claims process.
As soon as you’ve been diagnosed with an illness, let your insurer know. It’s a good idea to go through the list of conditions that your policy covers, so you can check that your condition is included. If you’re unsure whether it is or not, call your provider.
You’ll need to complete a claim form. This will ask for your personal details and information about your condition. You may also need to sign a consent form. This gives the insurance company permission to access your medical records.
Each claim is assessed individually. An assessor will review your claim form and any supporting medical information. If they need more details they may contact your GP or consultant. With Serious Illness Cover, the severity of your condition is taken into account. This determines how much your payout will be.
Once a claim has been approved, the money will be sent to your bank account within a few days.
Cost and premiums
There are several factors that affect the cost of both Serious Illness Cover and critical illness cover. These include:
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the amount and type of cover you want
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the length of the policy
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your age
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your health and lifestyle
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any pre-existing medical conditions.
The type of premium you choose can also affect the cost of your plan. Many insurers offer both guaranteed premiums and reviewable ones.
Guaranteed premiums won’t change during the time you hold the plan unless you make changes to your cover. Reviewable ones will be reviewed every now and again by your insurer. They may change the premium, especially if you’ve made a claim.
Some insurers also offer level or decreasing cover. Level cover means the amount of cover you have stays the same throughout the years your plan is in place. Decreasing cover reduces as the years go by. This type of cover is useful if you’re paying off a mortgage or other loans.
Choosing the right cover for your needs
Both critical illness cover, and Serious Illness Cover provide a valuable financial safety net if you get seriously ill. Choosing which option to buy comes down to your personal circumstances. These are the main factors to consider:
Type of cover
If you have a family, check whether the cover can be for both you and your partner, and if you can add children too. Other options such as indexation and later life cover may be important to you as well.
Range of illnesses covered
Critical illness insurance tends to cover fewer conditions than Serious Illness Cover. If you have a family history of a condition you may want to check it’s included.
Vitality Serious Illness Cover covers 114 different conditions as standard. If you choose to upgrade your cover, you can be insured for up to 174 conditions. This means you're likely to be covered when you need it most. See all conditions we cover.
Severity of illness
Serious Illness Cover can pay out even when your condition is caught early. Critical illness cover may not payout until your condition is more severe. So, you could get access to a lump sum payment earlier with serious illness cover.
Exclusions
Check for exclusions, such as pre-existing conditions. Make sure you’re completely honest when answering medical questions. That way there’s no nasty surprises when making a claim.
If you’re not sure which option would be best for you, speak to a financial advisor or insurance expert. They can help you make an informed decision.
Why choose Vitality?
Vitality Serious Illness Cover covers the widest number of medical conditions in the market, including some that are unique to us. It’s like critical illness cover, but it covers less severe conditions as well, so it’s more likely to pay out. Here are the main benefits:
- Cover for up to 174 conditions.
- Also covers less serious conditions.
- Claim in full more than once.
- Dementia and FrailCare Cover included as standard.
- Stay active and earn rewards.
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